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REPORT 



TO THE 



mmM ®[F im%\ 



OF THE 



UNRERSIT! OF ROCHESTER, 



ON THE 



pinn 0f Jittstrnrtiflir 



TO BK PURSUED IN THE 



COLLEGIATE DEPARTMENT. 






PRESENTED, SEPTEMBER IG, 1850. 



Boicl)eBter: 
'' PUBLISHED BY SAGE & BROTHER. 

1850. 






JOHN A. GRAY, 

PRINTER, 
79 Fulton, cor. of Gold St., N- Y. 



\ . 



At a Meeting of the Trustees of the University of Rochester, held 
May 13th, 1850, the following were appointed a Committee to report 
upon the Plan of Instruction to be pursued.in the Collegiate Department : 

ROBERT KELLY, Esq., 

Rev. WILLIAM R. WILLIAMS, D.D., 

Hon. R WHITTLESEY, 

Prof. CHESTER DEWEY, M. D., D. D., LL. D., 

Prof. THOMAS J. CONANT, D. D., 

Prof. A. C. KENDRICK, D. D., 

Prof. J. H. RAYMON^D. 



At a Meeting of the Board, held September 16th, 1850, the Report of 
the Committee was presented, and, after being considered, was approved, 
and ordered to be printed. 



EEPOET. 



The Committee appointed to report on the plan of instruction 
to be pursued in the University of Rochester, respectfully sub- 
mit their views upon the subject, and the conclusions at which 
they have arrived, to the consideration of the Board of Trus- 
tees. 

The subject of College organization is one which, at the 
present moment, is accompanied with peculiar embarrassments. 
There is a feeling of disappointment prevailing, to a certain 
extent, among educated men, as to the success of our colleges 
generally, both with respect to the numbers who attend them, 
and the results of the training imparted. Doubts have been 
instilled into the popular mind as to the wisdom of the estab- 
lished systems and their adaptedness to the wants of the day. 
The whole subject of education, in all its stages and depart- 
ments, is undergoing an investigation, such as it has never 
before received. There is taking place before our eyes the 
most subhme experiment in popular education that the world 
has ever seen. It is perfectly natural, therefore, that the Col- 
lege system should be subjected to a rigid analysis, and that 
in this age of wonderful discovery men should be looking for 
some grand improvements, that shall facilitate the acquisition 
of knowledge, and render it generally accessible. While this 
state of feeling and of expectation presents a favorable con- 
dition for a revision of the whole plan on which our higher 



institutions of learning are conducted, and for the introduction 
of any changes or modifications that may be regarded as val- 
uable, it gives power at the same time to those v^hose views 
are revolutionary, to overturn the very foundations of sound 
education. 

In this unsettled condition of men's minds, it is to be appre- 
hended, also, that no plan can be proposed that will give 
universal satisfaction. Irreconcilable opinions are struggling 
with each other for the mastery, or for a union that is impos- 
sible. Demands are made for some new Science or Art of 
Education, which shall diffuse among all classes of society 
valuable knowledge of a high order, that can never be realized. 
The popular road to knowledge can be made no shorter, no 
smoother, and no easier, than the royal road ; no principle, 
no skill, has power to level the way, to pierce the rugged hill 
of science, and bridge its profound abysses. 

It is with the consciousness of these difficulties accompany- 
ing their task, that the Committee have devoted their most 
careful attention and best judgment to the consideration of the 
subject referred to them. Their desire has been to avoid all 
extremes, on the side either of Progress or Conservatism ; to 
accommodate the instruction, in the scheme to be recommend- 
ed, as far as possible, to the present state of knowledge, the 
condition of society, and the wants of the people ; and, at the 
same time, to retain all that has been proven, in the experience 
of the past, to be of primary importance. 

Those who maintain that our colleges have signally failed 
to accomplish the ends for which they were established, ap- 
peal to certain facts in their history in proof of the position. 
They assert that, notwithstanding the large increase in the 
number of colleges, and the reduction of the charges for tuition, 
there has been no increase in the demand for the means of 
education, thus liberally provided, beyond the advance of 



population, and that it has by no means kept pace with the 
rapid augmentation of wealth in the community. They show, 
also, that colleges are not self-sustaining institutions, and argue, 
from the principles of political economy, that the instruction 
furnished is not worth its cost. Having, as they believe, dem- 
onstrated these propositions by indisputable facts, they deduce 
from them two important corollaries. First, The instruction, 
whether regard be had to the training, or to the knowledge 
communicated, has not been found of any pre-eminent advan- 
tage in the business of the world, and cannot have the great 
value that is claimed for it. Second, If the instruction provided 
were better adapted to the educational wants of our youth, 
the management of colleges might be made as remunerative 
in financial results as any other business. 

The facts adduced are certainly entitled to grave consider- 
ation, but will not, in the judgment of all, warrant the con- 
clusions that are derived from them. If it be true that the 
conveniences of education have been multiplied and its cost 
reduced, is it not equally true that all the avenues of life stand 
more broadly open than ever ? The glittering prizes of wealth 
have lost none of their fascinations, and industry and energy 
are as successful as ever in obtaining them. There has been 
no abatement in that impatience to rush into business which 
characterizes our people. It is to be apprehended that, no 
matter what improvements may be made in our systems of 
instruction, this spirit of world-seeking enterprise will long 
continue to be the main obstacle in the way of inducing our 
3^outh to persevere to the end in the laborious work of a com- 
plete education. Here is one of the drawbacks that accom- 
pany our extraordinary prosperity. 

Some succeed ia spite of all impediments. Some, who are 
successful in the world, make up for the deficiencies of early 
education. There is, too, an education that is superior to 



8 

anything furnished in school or college, and those who receive 
it may dispense, to some extent, with the advantages they 
offer. Academic honors will not insure the usefulness, the 
success, or the distinction of the man ; but this higher educa- 
tion is sure to lead to usefulness, to success, and to distinc- 
tion. It consists in the mental and moral discipline that is 
acquired by self-government, and the knowledge that is gained 
and applied in the school of experience. Indeed, the whole of 
life is one long process of education to those who wiL receive 
and profit by its lessons. 

The objection to the College system, on the ground that it 
is not a profitable branch of business, will not be regarded 
generally as a solid one. Education is not a commodity, the 
value of which is to be determined by the demand, and by 
its cash price in the market. Its returns are distant, and are 
dependent upon many contingencies — as, upon the mainte- 
nance of a virtuous character, the preservation of health — 
and above all, upon the Divine blessing. It may, both to the 
individual receiving it and to those whom he shall benefits- 
prove to be worth infinitely more than its cost ; and thus the 
truth of the economical axiom may in the end be abundantly 
verified. And yet high education is a very expensive article, 
and if it were disposed of at its full cost, with a fair business 
profit superadded, few purchasers would be found besides the 
children of wealth. It is to be hoped that this principle will 
never obtain, as the one on which our institutions of learning 
shall be conducted. The generosity which founds, endows, 
and so largely sustains these institutions now, is directed to a 
noble object. What patriot would desire to place all the best 
means of education within the reach only of those who are 
already favored with fortune's gifts ? There is something 
exceedingly beautiful in the thought, that the liberal provision, 
public and private, of the means of education, places its ines- 
timable blessings within the reach of the humblest of the peo- 



9 

pie, even as the highest honors of our country are open to all. 
It furnishes a simple process, by which the artificial barriers 
of wealth and pride may be broken down, the various por- 
tions of society commingled, social discontents repressed, and 
the sentiment of republican equality kept alive. And is it 
not in harmony with the impartial bounty of our heavenly 
Father, who bestows the gift of intellect without respect to 
the distinctions of earth ? 

There are obvious reasons why instruction in the higher 
branches of knowledge cannot be furnished at a cheap rate. 
The most important of these is one which is not always fully 
estimated in the consideration of this subject, and that is, the 
absolute necessity of teaching students in small classes, in any 
effective plan of education. It will be admitted by expe- 
rienced instructors, that if a class has over thirty scholars in 
it, it should be divided, in order to prosecute, vigorously and 
critically, the study of mathematics, of the ancient languages, 
or, indeed, of almost any branch taught in a college. The 
classes in the Military Academy at West Point are divided 
into sections of twenty each. The fact that medical schools, 
as conducted upon the loose, popular plan, will, when highly 
successful, yield large profits to their managers, has no bear- 
ing upon the case. For in them the Professor has little to 
do but to deliver lectures, receive the fees from the large 
numbers who attend them, and confer diplomas at the expi- 
ration of the course. He does not aim to educate each indi- 
vidual mind. Strictly speaking, he does not teach. 

It is scarcely necessary to sum together the various items 
which swell the cost of maintaining an institution of a colle- 
oiate character. The more diversified the scheme, the more 
expensive will it be found in proportion to the number of stu- 
dents. The German Universities, which boast of a large 
circle of branches, are eminently expensive establishments. 
Professors are maintained who have sometimes classes of 



10 

two or three students, and this in a country where scholars 
are numbered by tens of thousands, and the acquisition of 
learning and its distinctions is the main object of the national 
ambition. Nor can instruction in branches of knowledge, called 
useful by way of distinction, be made specially profitable. In 
order to officer any respectable organization, a considerable 
number of teachers must be engaged, for no one individual 
will be found qualified to teach many of these specialities. 
In some of them the classes would be small, and in all of 
them uncertain. It would be perfectly easy to show, from a 
statement of indispensable expenses, such as, cost of buildings, 
conveniences and apparatus, the means and appliances of 
instruction, the foundation and increase of a library, the cost 
of care-taking, the salaries of officers and teachers, &c., that 
thorough education in the sciences and their useful adapta- 
tions, languages and philosophy, can never be furnished at a 
low cost, and that it is entirely fallacious to apply to this sub- 
ject the laws which regulate the operations of trade. 

While, however, too much stress should not be laid on 
the stationary condition and embarrassed financial position of 
many of our colleges, these circumstances present an addi- 
tional incitement to the friends of learning, to study closely 
their plan and management, and to discover the means of 
making them more efficient and more widely useful. They 
should seek especially to extend the advantages of education 
they afford, and to induce large numbers to attend them. If 
the course of instruction constitutes, peculiarly or mainly, a 
preparation for a limited department only of the professions 
and occupations of our people, the range of studies should be 
enlarged, so as to furnish a more diversified preparation. If 
it be possible to meet the demands of the community, without 
sacrificing the essential elements and characteristics of sound 
education, and without injury to the cause of learning, they 



11 

should be met by all means. If there has been a tendency to 
extend instruction over a wide surface, so that its thoroughness 
has been impaired, and its adapted ness to train and evoke 
the mental powers diminished, the tendency should be 
arrested and counteracted. If, with the lowering of the price 
of tuition, there has been a lowering of the standard of prepara- 
tion at entrance, and of the standard of scholarship at gradua- 
tion, progress must be commenced and carried on vigorously in 
the other direction. The undersigned are disposed to believe, 
that in most of our existing institutions there is room for 
amendment in some of these particulars ; and they earnestly 
desire that the institution now to be established at Rochester 
may take a high position in the scale of reformation and 
progress. 

Before proceeding to offer the sketch of a plan of organiza- 
tion, they propose to consider briefly the character of our col- 
lege system, the advantages claimed for it, and the particu- 
lars in which it seems to have failed to realize its promised 
benefits. Some objections urged and plans proposed by those 
who believe the entire system to be wrong, and the important 
objects they desire .to accomplish, will also be presented. A 
rapid survey of the whole subject is necessary in order to 
estimate the value of any improvements suggested, and will 
show the reasons which have shaped the outline scheme, here- 
with submitted, in its various features. 

It is not necessary to present the details of an ordinary 
college curriculum. There is no precisely uniform standard, 
and the relative attention to particular studies differs in differ- 
ent institutions. It is sufficient to say, that students are 
admitted upon examination in certain prescribed studies, 
which boys of fair minds and good advantages maybe quali- 
fied to pass at the age of, say, thirteen to seventeen years. 
The course, which is substantially the same for all students, 
occupies four years. The Latin and Greek languages consti- 



12 

tute the most important item. Mathematical science claims 
the next place. History, Belles Lettres, Moral and Intellec- 
tual Philosophy, Political Economy, may be grouped together 
as another class of studies embraced in the course. Natural 
Philosophy, Chemistry, and occasionally some other of the 
natural sciences, as Geology, Botany or Mineralogy, usually 
have a limited space allotted to them. 

The plan of our colleges is based upon the English Univer- 
sity scheme, from which it differs chiefly in this respect, that 
in the latter the course of studies is much more limited, being 
adapted to a different condition of society, and having been 
established at a period when the circle of knowledge was 
greatly circumscribed. As a consequence, the main branches 
there pursued are carried further and taught more thoroughly. 
The distinctive feature of Oxford University is, that classical 
learning is the one prominent study, and mathematics are 
overshadowed. At Cambridge, the position of these branches 
is reversed, and mathematics have the preeminence. The 
important range of studies, which in our colleges are embraced 
under the professorships of History and Belles Lettres, and of 
Intellectual and Moral Philosophy, has until recently been 
almost entirely neglected. An examination in them was not 
required for college degrees. The same is true with respect 
to the natural sciences. Some of these departments of knowl- 
edge are such as at the present day no educated man may 
be ignorant of; and the pressure of public opinion has of late 
demanded such a modification of studies as will admit cer- 
tain of them into the curriculum. 

The German University Scheme is much higher and more 
extended. The young man passes through a long, syste- 
matic course in the gymnasium, varied in the subjects 
of instruction, but especially thorough in the classics. When 
he has completed satisfactorily this course of study, and 
.reached perhaps as high a point as the graduates of our col- 



13 

leges, he enters the University. Here he chooses the studies 
he will pursue. He is matured enough in years and mind, 
to determine upon his career in life, and select the branches 
which will qualify him for it. He is not taught, so to speak, 
in the University. He acquires knowledge for himself, by the 
aid of his previous cultivation, and from a sense of its impor- 
tance. He attends lectures, pursues an extensive course of 
reading and investigation in the range of his intended pro- 
fessional pursuits, and at the close presents himself for a 
degree, to obtain which he has to undergo a rigid govern- 
ment examination, such as none but an excellent scholar can 
pass. His success in life is intimately connected with the 
result ; without a degree he can be admitted to no profession, 
he cannot occupy the position of an instructor, he can enter 
upon no high career in any sphere ; and the consciousness of 
this has operated as a powerful stimulus upon him during 
his whole University career. He comes put a full-grow 
man, in years and in culture. 

The friends of sound education in our country generally 
are convinced of the importance of a systematic scheme of 
College instruction, and consider the routine of studies pursued 
in our institutions to be in the main a good one. A portion 
of these constitute the ground- work of a good education in the 
seminaries of Europe as well as America, and their value 
as the means of disciplining, invigorating, and refining the 
mind, has been established by the experience of ages. The 
same method of laying the foundation by a regular course of 
diversified instruction is everywhere pursued. It is dertainly 
an argument of great weight in favor of a course and a method 
of study, that they receive the assent of the great body of the 
educated men of the world, who attribute to them their own de- 
velopment, and are conscious of the power they have commu- 
nicated. A decision resting upon such grounds, and sustained 
by so many competent authorities, is not lightly to be reversed. 



14 

The plan which offers itself as the direct antagonist of the 
college system, may be called the Voluntary Plan. Its dis- 
tinctive characteristic is, to furnish a wide range of instruc- 
tion in the Sciences and their diversified applications, Lan- 
guages, Literature, &c., and to throw them open to all seekers 
to select for themselves. The demand for this freedom of 
choice, in its fullest sense and popular expression, amounts 
to this, that the pupil shall learn anything he chooses, as much 
of anything as he chooses, and when he chooses. The object 
aimed at is that he shall be constrained to acquire no knowl- 
edge but such as is directly required, or as he deems requisite, 
for his particular career in life, and that he shall find this 
knowledge within its reach, whatever its character may be, 
at any stage of his development. 

If it be easy to discover objections to the College system, 
those which suggest themselves with respect to the Voluntary 
Scheme, as thus broadly stated, are perfectly overwhelming. 
The position of President of an institution conducted upon this 
plan would be no sinecure, if it were expected that he should 
keep in order so complicated a machine, and exercise a super- 
vision over the progress of each individual. There are diffi- 
culties, also, in regard to discipline, and the arrangement of 
classes and studies, that seem to be almost insurmountable. 
But if the scheme were a manageable one, it is not suited to the 
age, character, and educational stand-point of those for whose 
benefit it would be established. The scholar has not intelli- 
gence enough to make a judicious choice, even if, at his 
immature age, his career has been determined on ; and his 
parents and guardians ordinarily can render him little assist- 
ance. Both he and they are likely to form a false estimate 
of the quality of his mind, and a wrong judgment as to the 
discipline which it needs. He cannot perceive the connec- 
tion between his present studies and his future life, and has 



15 

no conception of their intrinsic or relative value. If he have 
not yet determined upon his career, the case is still worse. 
He will prefer the branches which he acquires most easily, 
and neglect, because of their difficulty, those which are more 
necessary for him, and especially necessary for the develop- 
ment of his mind in. those faculties in which it is naturally 
weakest. Then again, certain branches seem to be indis- 
pensable in any education worthy of the name, which might 
and would, doubtless, in many cases be neglected. The volun- 
tary principle is an admirable one in all cases where it is to 
be exercised by men, worthy of the rights and privileges of 
freedom, but it is a dangerous instrument for boys to handle, 
either as to their behavior or their education. A systematic 
course of instruction is a constraint upon the freedom of the 
youth, and so are the laws of discipline, but both are neces- 
sary for his guidance. 

The experiment of partial courses has been often tested in 
our colleges, and there are cases where they may be highly 
advantageous. It is proper that arrangements should be made 
for such cases, but if this be the controlling feature of the plan, 
the results would, in all probability, be mischievous. The 
partial courses are, in many instances, selected by students 
from the want of adequate preparation to pursue all the 
studies of the curriculum, and, as a general rule, such stu- 
dents are inferior, even in the department selected, to those 
who pursue a full college course. There is, undoubtedly, a 
reason for this general inferiority of partial course students, 
and that reason furnishes us with the most serious objection 
that can be brought against the Voluntary Plan. 

The youthful mind requires varied culture in order to in- 
sure its even and healthy growth, and its soundness in riper 
years. The power gained by one study prepares it to pursue 
one of a different character more successfully, and it is con- 
stantly refreshed and invigorated by the variety of the pro- 



16 

cesses by which it is exercised. Certain studies are specially 
fitted to train particular faculties of the understanding, and the 
grand object in view is to educate, to bring out, all the facul- 
ties. A certain diversity of studies — and that too a somewhat 
limited diversity at one time, in order to secure interest, vigor, 
and thoroughness — is of the utmost importance. A one-sided 
culture, destroying the balance of the powers, is one of the 
most pernicious modes of developing the youthful understand- 
insf, and its effects will never be obhterated in after life. The 
effect of a one-sided culture upon the general soundness of 
the understanding is shown in numerous instances, occurring 
within every one's experience. It is precisely these half- 
educated men — and usually such as have acquired consider- 
able power by self-culture, but have not received the develop- 
ment of a liberal education — who are the most dangerous men 
in the community, the broachers of unsound opinions, and the 
reckless advocates of the most radical innovations. 

The advantages of the class-influence would of course be 
lost, for there can be no permanent class in the miscellaneous 
admixtures and shifting combinations of a wide, Voluntary 
system. There are differences of opinion as to the value of 
this influence, but most educators are convinced of its neces- 
sity. We all need through life strong stimulants to exertion, 
and of these the spirit of competition is one of the most con- 
stant and efficacious. The effect of good examples is exceed- 
ingly valuable to the great bulk of the cla&s, and the drill of 
the platoon keeps them steadier on the march. The youth 
is continually receiving rebukes to his self-esteem, and yet 
acquires a sense of his real power by comparing himself with 
his fellows. There is something, too, in the sympathy of the 
class, and in the companionship of young men engaged in the 
same tasks, and agitated by the same daily cares, that is of 
importance in the work of education. The class feeling is 
broken and destroyed entirely by an arrangement that allows 



17 

every one to select any branch that he may choose to pursue, 
at any period of his college life. In the judgment of most 
men, the advantages enumerated would be by no means 
counterbalanced by the privilege that would be afforded in 
the Voluntary arrangement, for each young man to advance 
himself, slowly or rapidly, in each several department, 
according to his ability. 

The objections, thus succinctly stated, are directed against 
the plan of Voluntary studies, regarded as a really free scheme, 
but are not intended to apply to the principle of election within 
safety-guarded limits. Nor are they applicable to any scheme 
which admits, to a certain extent, the idea of election, but 
virtually overrules it, and vests the whole control of the stu- 
dies of each pupil in the hands of the Faculty. 

It is important to consider the specific objections that are 
alleged against the plan of studies and the general arrange- 
ment and management of our Colleges, in order to ascertain 
in respect to each, whether it is justly founded, and, further- 
more, whether it is remediable. 

Of these the chief, both as to its weight and the extent to 
which it is entertained, lying at the foundation of almost all 
the rest, is this, that the system of instruction, being designed 
specially as a preparation for the learned professions, is not 
well adapted to train young men for other occupations — for 
the business, the trades, the arts, and all the active pursuits 
of industrial life — inasmuch as it compels them to pursue 
branches useless to them in these occupations, and omits, to 
a great extent, such knowledge as would be useful. The 
dead languages occupy a vast share of the time, but the lan- 
guages of commerce are omitted. Even the sciences which 
are introduced are taught theoretically only, and there is no 
application of their principles to the useful arts. This is 
alleged to be the general characteristic of the whole scheme 
2 



18 

of studies. The education, to use a comprehensive phrase, 
is in no sense practical. 

There are several important observations to be made with 
respect to this point. What is practical education ? A vague 
general answer to this question, as, for example, that it means 
education in such branches of knowledge as will be useful 
in practical life, will be of no service to us here. It is exceed- 
ingly desirable to have a specific, accurate, and tangible 
definition of the meaning of a practical education, in what it 
consists, and how it is to be communicated. Those who 
declaim most freely on this subject would find it a difficult 
task to lay down a working scheme that will satisfy either 
themselves or others. Without a basis of general culture, 
and especially without a thorough ground-work in the theory 
of each particular science, such a scheme would be exploded 
at once by sound educationists. And then, the narrowness 
of any scheme that could be sketched to meet the world-wide 
aim of furnishing a special preparation for each one of the 
diversified pursuits of human industry, would expose it to 
censure from all quarters. The vast body of the people would 
still find their trades, or branches of manufacture, or callings, 
unrepresented in the plan. 

There is a great deal of looseness in the popular conception 
of a practical education, and much misapprehension as to its 
real character. The acquisition of knowledge in any partic- 
ular science, so as to make it of real service in the arts or 
business of life, is not the simple and easily accessible thing 
which some imagine. Such practical knowledge is the very 
highest kind of knowledge, and by far the most difficult 
of attainment. It can only be. acquired after a thorough 
mastery of the principles of the science. For the mere acqui- 
sition of a few empirical rules from a text-book or lecture is 
not deserving of mention in this connection. Such knowledge 



19 

might as well — ^perhaps, indeed, with great advantage to all 
concerned — be left in the books themselves, to be used, like 
other recipes, as occasion may require. The union of science 
to labor, much as we may desire to see it consummated for 
the benefit of mankind, is not so easily formed as some per- 
sons assume. Science, as the bride of Labor, must be wooed 

and won, like another Rachel, after a long and arduous court- 

Ik 

ship. And the men who can apply science to the uses of 
practical life, and make discoveries that shall benefit society, 
are the great philosophers, the Bowditches and the Liebigs 
of the age. 

There is apt to be entertained a very false conception 
of the amount of the knowledge that is attainable in the 
period of an ordinary College course. The amount of in- 
formation gained, under the most favorable circumstances, 
is comparatively a small matter. It is with the best student 
a mere preparation, giving him the power to acquire, and lay- 
ing the basis of future acquisitions. The knowledge which 
one eminent in his profession, or distinguished for intelH- 
gence, acquires, is chiefly gathered in the very midst of the 
labors of life. The end of a College education is not to sup- 
ply the memory with large stores of knowledge, theoretical 
or practical. Its chief object is to educate the powers of the 
mind, to expand, to strengthen, and to refine it, to train it to 
habits of thought and industry, and to fit it for its own work 
in future life. And any scheme of education which loses 
sight of the latter object, and unduly magnifies the former, is 
essentially vicious and false. 

It can scarcely be true that the same unvarying course of 
studies furnishes the best training for all youth, and the best 
preparation for all occupations. The most conservative 
advocates of the ordinary curriculum would scarcely main- 
tain this precise proposition, although they might argue that, 
on the whole, it is best to retain it in its undeviating unifor- 



20 

mity. The impression, so generally prevalent, that the col- 
lege courses, both in this country and in England, have been 
framed more particularly to prepare young men for the 
learned professions, is undoubtedly founded in truth. That 
the plan of instruction is v^ell adapted to prepare for these 
professions, is an evidence of its general soundness and ex- 
cellence, for these are intellectual occupations, and demand 
well-trained minds for success in them. But it is a very 
narrow view to suppose that no other arrangement will 
furnish a good education. All knowledge has a tendency to 
improve the mind, if acquired in the right way. Symmetri- 
cal culture can be obtained by various combinations. And 
while it is true that the excellence of any scheme must be 
tested by its fitness to train the understanding, and the 
acquisition of knowledge is of secondary consequence, it by 
no means follows that the latter is of no importance. It may 
be of high value, limited though it will necessarily be in its 
extent. It is to serve as a groundwork, at least, for the use- 
ful attainments that are to complete hereafter the structure of 
a fully developed education. The simple plan in educating 
a youth would seem to be, to select for him, if it be practica- 
ble, such departments of knowledge as may be of most value 
for him, within the first great condition laid down — that the 
mind shall receive a regular, even, general culture. 

It cannot be denied that many important sciences and 
departments of knowledge are neglected entirely, or taught 
so slightly that they do not serve for any practical use. The 
present age has witnessed some of the most wonderful adap- 
tations of the powers of nature to the services of man, and 
has made the whole realm of science tributary to his wants — 
it has explored all the ancient domains of knowledge, and 
discovered new kingdoms — it has investigated nearly every 
department of human thought, and extended its researches 
over the whole history of the race ; but where, to speak in 



21 

general terms, are all these discoveries in the stereotyped 
curriculum ? Is it not right, and is it not practicable, that 
the means of instruction in some, at least, of these most val- 
uable branches of knowledge should be provided in our col- 
lege courses ? It may not be possible, in connection with a 
general education, to compass very high attainments in the 
practical applications of particular sciences, for nearly each 
one of these demands the labor of 3^ears ; yet the scientific 
principles and elements, on which some of the more necessary 
useful arts rest, can be acquired, to valuable purpose. The 
instruction given may, and it should be, accurate and thor- 
ough, as far as it goes, in order to guard against the dangers 
of superficial knowledge, which will be especially serious, 
when the knowledge is to be applied in practice. Education 
of this kind cannot fail to be of great value to the student, and 
exceedingly useful to society. Those who have this concep- 
tion of a practical education, demand what is altogether rea- 
sonable. It is necessary that this demand should be supplied ; 
and if our Colleges cannot be framed so as to meet the w^ant, 
other institutions must be organized which shall furnish the 
instruction desired. 

But there is an objection against the established system of 
an opposite character. There has been a tendency to intro- 
duce too many branches, and the pressure has been constant 
for the admission of new departments. Each new science, 
as it rises from the abysses where it has lain- hidden, radiant 
with the beauty, and clothed with the dignity of truth, comes 
forward to demand a place among her elder sisters, and 
insists upon being taken into the family group. It is thus 
true, at the same time, that too many studies have been made 
a part of the course, and that many of the most useful sub- 
jects are omitted. The inevitable consequence of the intro- 
duction of a large number of studies in the curriculum has 
been, that some are passed over in a hasty, superficial man- 



22 

ner, instead of being studied accurately. The student, 
instead of garnering the fruits of the field on which he enters, 
makes no more impression upon the waving harvest than did 
the swift Camilla, whose feet scarcely broke the bending ears 
of corn, as she skimmed over them in her rapid flight. A 
superficial idea of the subject is caught up by the way, but 
no really valuable knowledge or discipline is gained. Some 
of the most difficult and important subjects are passed over 
in the mere memoriter studying of a text-book, which 
demand, and should receive, the most rigorous exercise of the 
understanding. It is certainly better that a notion of some 
of these subjects should be gathered by general reading, and 
that those which are studied, should be prosecuted in a 
scholar-like way. The remedy for this evil is simply to 
reduce the number of studies which each student shall be 
allowed to pursue. 

It is urged as an evidence of some essential defect in the 
College system, that even in the prominent studies, which 
engross a monopolizing share of attention, there are few 
scholars who make any respectable progress. But a small 
proportion of a class on graduating from College are compe- 
tent to translate with facility Latin and Greek authors, and a 
still smaller number are good mathematicians. 

There is without doubt good cause for this objection, but 
it does not justify the inference that the system itself is radi- 
cally defective. It is to be remembered that the period 
allowed to education with us is very limited. We commence 
at an earlier age, and finish much earlier, than they do in 
European countries. The German student has devoted a 
great deal more time to the study of the ancient languages 
than our College graduates, before he enters the University. 
And the good classical scholars from Oxford have enjoyed a 
long course of training in reading and writing Latin, and in 
the critical study of the Greek language in all its minutiae, 



23 

first in such schools as Eton or Westminster, and then in the 
University, incomparably superior in extent to anything 
found in the United States. The time devoted to what is 
considered a good education with us» is entirely too limited to 
produce any high degree of scholarship. We deceive our- 
selves if we suppose that by any improvement in our systems 
w^e shall raise to a very elevated point the standard of attain- 
ments in any particular department of science or literature, 
unless there be evinced a disposition on the part of our young 
men to devote to their education a longer space of time than 
they are now willing to spare. When that period arrives, 
we shall be led to found great Universities, each one of which 
shall be the centre and crown of a system of colleges, exert- 
ing a useful control over them and completing the education 
there commenced. Until that desirable consummation, all 
that can be done is, to administer our Colleges wisely, and 
provide in them, as far as possible, the opportunity of more 
advanced instruction in some important branches, where it is 
now too limited to answer the ends in view. 

But w^e do not do justice to the system. The acquisitions 
of students at their admission are in many cases inadequate 
for the advantageous prosecution of the studies embraced in 
the College course. It is not that the nominal requirements 
are too low. Strictly interpreted, they demand a very 
respectable amount of acquisitions. The difficulty is, that in 
the competition between the numerous Colleges to admit large 
numbers, the rules prescribing the requisitions for entrance 
are not enforced in their true meaning. The practice of one 
College in keeping down the standard operates unfavorably 
on many others ; and the more influential be its position in 
age and importance, the greater will be the injury it will 
occasion to the whole cause of education. It is here that 
reform must begin, if we intend to bring out good classical 
scholars from our Colleges, able mathematicians, elegant 



belles-lettres scholars, skilled dialecticians and philosophers, 
or proficients in any of the sciences. We must exact at 
entrance an accuracy of preparation, that shall re-act upon 
the academy, and beyond that, upon the district school. 
Thorough is the word which we need to have written upon 
all our seminaries and modes of teaching — upon the mind of 
every teacher, and on the daily task of every scholar. 

The age of the students is, in many cases, too immature. A 
strict requisition of the qualifications demanded for admission 
would tend to remedy this difficulty. In judging of the 
results of a system, the age of those who pursue it is an 
important consideration, and should be carefully regarded in 
putting a youth upon a course of severe study. Below a 
certain limit, difficult to fix, inasmuch as it is not the same in 
all individuals, the too early prosecution of the higher mathe- 
matics and other studies demanding the strenuous exertion of 
the reasoning powers may operate injuriously on the mind, 
even though a good memory and quickness of apprehension 
may carry the student successfully through his course. The 
precocious development is followed by a stunted growth, and 
the advantages of the education received are in a considera- 
ble degree lost. 

And it is not because a fair and proper amount of studies 
in the prominent branches is not required in the course, that 
so few students make respectable proficiency, but because 
they do not lea,rn accurately the studies prescribed. The true 
way to graduate good scholars is to conduct the system so 
rigidly that none others shall receive a degree. The same 
plan must be adhered to throughout. Strict examinations 
should be held at the end of each session, and at proper 
intervals those who cannot pass a good examination should 
be turned back, to go over the same studies again. The 
principle why such strictness should be observed is perfectly 
simple and reasonable. The student is not qualified to be 



25 

advanced, unless he pass the examination. There is a regu- 
lar gradation in each department of knowledge, and the 
youth must regularly and fairly surmount each step as he 
reaches it, and thus gain a firm footing for advancing on- 
wards. To take for an example the mathematical course ; — 
if the scholar have neglected his studies in Algebra and 
Geometry, what pleasure does he find in the beauties of the 
Differential Calculus ? The subsequent years in this depart- 
ment are a perfect blank. Indeed he gives up the whole 
subject in despair, and looks upon the. very characters of the 
science as so many inexplicable hieroglyphics. With respect 
to the ancient languages, and in most of the other depart- 
ments of study, there is a similar dependence and connection 
betw^een the lower and the higher stages of the course. 

Here is one of the most patent evils in the management of 
our Colleges, impairing the value of the education imparted, 
and depreciating its estimation in the eyes of the community. 
If our graduates all measured up to the standard, their influ- 
ence upon society would be more felt. The superior schol- 
arship of the graduates of the Military Academy at West 
Point, in the branches there pursued, is well know^n, and the 
fact that so many of our able Civil Engineers have received 
their training in that admirable school, is often pointed out as 
evidence of the advantage of devoting particular attention to 
a few practical branches in preparing young men for prac- 
tical life. It certainly presents a strong case in answer to 
those who should maintain that there can be no high educa- 
tion without a knowledge of Latin and Greek. For here is 
an education, confessedly excellent, without any acquaint- 
ance with either of these languages. At the same time the 
example of the West Point Academy does not afford the 
slightest support to the superficial opinion that practical 
instruction consists in the teaching of practical rules, because 
the education there given is extraordinarily thorough in its- 



26 

scientific basis, and the practice taught is only a partial, 
narrow, and peculiar application of theoretical principles of 
widely extended adaptations. But the results are to be 
attributed mainly to the peculiar character of that institution, 
the exclusion of unworthy scholars, the impartial rigor of its 
rules, the number and talent of the instructors, and the meth- 
ods of teaching. The graduates of West Point are picked 
men. They have passed through ordeal after ordeal, and 
have come out, like gold from the fire, seven times purified. 
There is the same inflexible demand for the utmost industry 
and the full exercise of the best minds throughout the entire 
ourse. If our Colleges had it in their power to manage the 
courses of instruction laid down in their programmes with 
the same strictness, results equally valuable in preparing 
young men for the varied business of life would be produced. 
To remedy this evil is one of the most difficult problems 
submitted at this time to the friends of sound education. 
Public opinion is not prepared for the extreme measures 
which a complete remedy would require. It is inexpedient 
and impracticable to model an institution depending upon public 
favor for its maintenance and patronage, after the example of 
a National Military Academy". But the important interests at 
stake demand that the remedy should be applied, as far as it 
can be done with safety. So long as parents shall consent, 
and pupils continue to resort to institutions that are lax in the 
-terms of admission, that are easy in the requirements of study, 
and that dispense degrees with liberality, there will be great 
obstacles to be overcome before the reform can be carried out. 
The support of strictly conducted institutions, until public 
opinion shall be informed and corrected, will involve heavy 
drafts upon the liberality of their friends. It is to be supposed 
that the superior value of the education dispensed in them, 
would gradually be acknowledged. The strictness with which 
they ai'e conducted will then be the means of their further 



27 

improvement, b}'" attracting and securing the very best class 
of scholars. 

There are not wanting advocates, however, for the method, 
usually pursued, of passing on inferior scholars. The practice 
in the English Universities is the same as with us. The hon- 
ors serve as a stimulus for the few, but the ^ol degree — the 
degree for the many — is conferred upon an examination in a 
very meagre list of studies. The system is adapted to pro- 
duce some first-rate scholars, and at the same time is accom- 
modated to suit the wishes of the sons of indulgence. The 
arguments of the champions of the lax method partake largely 
of sympathy for the weaklings of the flock. They maintain 
that such scholars, by associating in the class with those more 
gifted and studious, have their minds expanded and receive 
substantial and lasting benefit, although they do not learn 
thoroughly the subjects over which they pass. Their error 
lies in losing sight of this incontestable and universal princi- 
ple, that the labor of boys will be regulated by the standard 
adopted. If that be high, provided of course that it be within 
the range of fair capabilities, and do not overtask mind and 
body with undue exactions, the majority of students will work 
up to it. If the standard be low, the majority will bestow no 
more exertion than is necessary to meet its requirements. Our 
Colleges should shape their rules, requisitions, and whole 
management, to suit the studious and the good, to accustom 
the mind to severe exercise, and to implant the habit of appli- 
cation — one of the most necessary of all the lessons of life. 

The brief view we have taken of our College system, in its 
character and administration, of its merits and defects, its 
advantages and its drawbacks, seems to have led us to the 
following conclusions : 

1. The system is, on the whole, admirably adapted as a means 
of intellectual training, and in its main characteristics should not be 



28 

abaudoned. Tlie featui-e of systematic com-ses of instruction espe- 
cially should be maintained, in order to secure even development 
and a fair amount of general culture. 

2. The range of studies is too restricted to meet the educational 
wants of the people. The means of instruction in many useful and 
important branches are not provided. 

3. Too many studies are crowded into the one compulsory course 
to allow that all shall be taught properly. Some are not pui-sued so 
far as is needed or desired. 

4. The system is not managed ordinarily with proper vigor. 
Students are received in an imperfect state of preparation, and are 
admitted too young. A sufficiently strict method is not pui*sued 
with respect to their advancement during the course, and at the close 
they receive a degree, which, in many cases, is not a badge of re- 
spectable scholarship. 

The following outline of a plan of studies, arranged in view 
of the above conclusions, is respectfully submitted : 

1. The regular course for each student shall occupy four years, 
at the end of which time those who shall pass a good examination 
in the prescribed studies shall be admitted to a degree ; those who 
have pursued classical studies through the couree, to the degree of 
Bachelor of Arts, and those who have not, to the degree of Bachelor 
of Sciences. 

2. The following depai'tments of study shall be pursued during 
the Freshman and Sophomore years — a daily recitation in each de- 
partment to be allowed throughout the two years : 

1. Department of History and Belles Lettres. Modern His- 
tory — Rhetoric — History of English Literature — Composition 
and Declamation. 

2. Department of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. 
Algebra — Geometiy — Plane and Spherical Trigonometry — Ele- 

* ments of Natural Philosophy. 

3. Department of Languages. 

1. Elective branch. Latin and Greek Languages. 

2. " " French and German Languages. 

All regular course students shall pursue the studies of the 
first two departments, except that during half the Freshman year 



29 

the classical students shall pursue the study of Latin and Greek, 

in place of Modern History. In regard to the third, they will 

be allowed to choose either the Latin and Greek course or the 

French and German course. 

3. The studies of the Junior and Senior years shall be grouped 

mainly under the four next following departments — one hour daily 

recitation throughout the two years to constitute the com-se in each : 

1. Department of Belles Lettres'and of Moral and Intellect- 
ual Philosophy. Logic — Mental, Moral, and Political Science — 
Evidences of Natural and Revealed Religion — Principles of 
Law — Composition and Declamation. 

2. Department of Mathematics and Mechanics. Higher 
Pure Mathematics — Adaptations of Mathematical Science to the 
Arts — Engineering and Construction — Mechanical Philosophy. 

3i Department of Natural Sciences. Chemistry, including 
Chemical Technology, and especially Agricultural Chemistry — 
Botany, including Botanical Technology — Geology — Mineralogy 
— Zoology. 

4. Department of Languages. Latin and Greek. 

The first of these departments shall be an obligatory study 
upon all regular course students. Those who have studied the 
Ancient languages will, with the advice of the Faculty, elect 
tvvo of the other three departments, or pursue the Modern lan- 
guages in lieu of Latin and Greek. Those who have studied 
the Modern languages will pursue the studies of both the Scien- 
tific departments. 

5. In addition to the above, there shall be a Department of 
Drawing, and all who pursue the upper department of Mathe- 
matics and Mechanics, shall take Drawing lessons. 

The plan above sketched will seem a bold one to many 
who have been accustomed to regard the established system 
as defining the limits within which a safe, sound, and thorough 
education must bo confined. The feature which will strike 
them as a radical and dangerous innovation, is the permission 
to omit Latin and Greek in the regular undergraduate course, 
and admission to a degree without any knowledge of them. 
But it appears to the undersigned that there are weighty rea- 
sons for trying the experiment. They have no desire of 



30 

detracting from the value of Classical studies, and much less, 
have they any disposition to go over the old argument upon 
the subject. They are unanimously of opinion that the critical 
and extended study of the languages of Ancient Greece and 
Rome — languages which, though no longer spoken in their 
original forms, are still upon the lips of many nations and live 
again in several of the tongues of modern Europe, constituting 
an important part of our vocabulary, and affording, in the 
exercise of translation, a discipline of incomparable excellence 
in the discriminating use of words, and in all the niceties of 
construction ; languages so copious in resources and admirable 
in structure, so pure in the style of the authors, and rich in a 
literature that can boast of the highest models of eloquence 
and the best specimens of poetry in all its varieties ; that 
contains the fountains of philosophy and is replete with the 
spirit of ancient civilization ; that is storied with glorious exam- 
ples of patriotism and heroic virtue, and adorned with the gay 
pictures of an imaginative mythology — is one of the most 
valuable, as it is the most elegant of studies, to those who aim 
at distinguished scholarship, and will devote the requisite 
time to their education. These languages are the only keys 
that will unlock some of the choicest treasuries of knowledge. 
To those who are pursuing their studies with the view of 
entering upon the sacred ministry, the study of ttem is an 
indispensable part of a thorough course of collegiate education. 
The Greek language contains the very words in which are 
expressed to us the teachings of our Holy Redeemer, and the 
writings of his Apostles, and the knowledge of it is therefore 
essential to a critical study of the Scriptures of the New 
Testament. 

But others believe, and some of them men of intelligence 
and education, that Latin and Greek are less valuable to the 
majority of young men than other departments of study ; and 
many are deterred from giving their children a high educa- 



31 

tion because in all our institutions these languages constitute 
an important part of the instruction, and consume several 
years in their acquisition. They are regarded as occupying 
the place of studies of practical utility. A course of useful 
and sound education can certainly be arranged without them ; 
and if this be the case, it is perfectly clear that both the 
wants and the opinions of the community are to be regarded 
in arranging a scheme of instruction for their use. 

There is a compensation for Latin and Greek in the admi- 
rable double scientific course, which, in the value of the stu- 
dies, and their general influence upon the education, claims 
a high estimate. The value of the study of the Natural Sci- 
ences, as teaching lessons of careful observation, of compari- 
son, and of systematic classification, is an important off-set 
against the training which the critical study of the ancient 
languages carries with it. 

The study of the Modern Languages is also a useful one, 
and conveys important collateral advantages. For mercan- 
tile life, some of them have an immediate practical value. 
They contain literary treasures of beauty and worth, and are 
stored with the discoveries of modern science. The exercise 
of translation is immeasurably inferior to the study of the 
Classic tongues, as teaching the precise use of words, but is 
calculated in a high degree to impart facility in the use of 
language. If they are only taught properly, they may afford 
a most valuable discipline. All the principles of grammar and 
the philosophy of language can be learned from the study of 
them, if they should be taught as critically as Latin and 
Greek are taught. They are proposed as a substitute 
partially for the Ancient Languages, to such as shall so elect, 
because it appears to be only reasonable that in the plan of 
our higher institutions the advantages of a superior education, 
with the knowledge of these languages, should be afforded to 
those who have a decided preference for them. They will 



32 

be particularly prized by those who will choose to pursue 
a two years' course ; and the scheme is arranged for the first 
two years, so as to provide an education excellent and com- 
plete in itself, as far as it goes, varied in its development, and 
furnishing a basis on which, in after life, a solid structure of 
knowledge may be reared. 

The Committee entertain the hope that the opening of a 
course of superior education, without including in it as a 
necessary condition the dead languages, will increase the num- 
ber of those who will receive such education. They believe 
that it will not detract from the estimation of classical studies, 
nor diminish the number of those who will pursue them. An 
opportunity will be afforded for proving the superiority which 
the friends of classical learning claim for it as a means of dis- 
cipline, if the two classes of students shall meet together in all 
their other studies and compare their strength. The cham- 
pions of the classics should be willing to submit their favorite 
study to such a test, and to trust the Voluntary system to this 
extent. A very interesting experiment of a similar charax^ter 
has been made for a short period in the Free Academy of the 
City of New- York. The pupils of that institution have all 
received their preliminary education in the common schools, 
and are eminently the children of the people. They have 
perfect freedom of choice whether they will study the Modern 
Languages or Latin and Greek, and neither is compulsory. 
There have been four entrances, to wit : one hundred and 
forty-three scholars were admitted at the first examination, 
fifty-nine at the second, fifty -three at the third, and eighty- 
one at the fourth ; and nearly three fourths of each class have 
chosen Latin and Greek. The fact is interesting, as showing 
that these studies have a strong hold on the popular mind, 
notwithstanding the prejudices with which they have been 
assailed on the one hand, and the extravagant idolatry they 
have received on the other. 



33 

But there is one preliminary to the fair working of this 
experiment that is essential. The requirements for admis- 
sion must be so regulated, and measured in both cases with 
such nicety and impartiality, that the two classes of students 
shall be brought up to the same age and as nearly as possible 
to the same level in their education. The examination of the 
Modern Language students for admission, by its minute 
strictness, and by demanding the knowledge of some branches 
not usually required, in lieu of Latin and Greek, should be 
made equivalent to that of the other class of candidates. 
There are reasons for this arrangement, besides the necessity 
of the equalization of the attainments of the pupils in order 
to insure the symmetry and success of the plan. It would 
serve no useful purpose in any respect that Colleges should 
receive students at a less advanced stage than this arrange- 
ment would secure ; and it would be exceedingly disadvan- 
tageous to the general cause of education that they should 
encroach upon the proper sphere of our excellent academies. 
In these, certain of the branches included in the course pro- 
posed for the Freshman and the Sophomore years are taught, 
and in some of them are well taught. But they are such 
studies as can be pursued to more advantage at a later period 
in the boy's education, if it be his intention to continue it up 
to a higher point. There can be no difficulty in arranging 
the scheme of the academy to accommodate itself to the 
College requirement, by furnishing instruction in the specific 
studies demanded. 

Let us follow the Modern Language student through his 
course in the University. His studies in French and German 
cease at the end of the first two years. The time allowed is 
liberal, sufficient in which to acquire an excellent and avail- 
able knowledge of both; and both ought to be taught in such 
a way that the students shall be able to speak them. He 
has throughout the same period been pursuing all the studies 



34 

in the department of History and Belles Lettres, and in that of 
Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. During the remain- 
ing two years he will pursue the Mathematical and Mechani- 
cal department with all that is included under it, the Natural 
Science department, with its elegant and useful branches, and 
the Belles Lettres and Philosophical department ; and when 
qualified to take his degree, will have received an admirable 
variety of mental training, and will have a,n education of a 
high rank. It will not be a classical, but it will certainly be 
a liberal education, winning for its possessor social considera- 
tion everywhere, by the highly diversified intelligence it has 
imparted to him, and eminently adapted for general useful- 
ness. As a scientific education, it will be far superior to any- 
thing afforded in the ordinary arrangement ; two thirds of 
the time during the two last and best years of the student's 
course being devoted to the sciences. As a literary educa- 
tion, it will also claim a high estimation. 

Let us in like manner follow the course of the Classical 
student. During the Freshman and Sophomore years he has 
pursued his Latin and Greek studies, and all those in the Sci- 
entific and English departments, except that he has omitted, 
during half the Freshman year, a part of the Historical course. 

During the Junior and Senior years, he will, like the other 
class of students, pursue all the studies in the department of 
Belles Lettres and Philosophy; for these cannot be abandoned 
in any plan of good education. In this course are included 
Moral and Intellectual Philosophy, which must have sufficient 
space allowed to them to be taught in the most thorough 
manner, even though other studies in the department should 
be confined within narrow limits. No one will dispute the 
importance of laying deeply in the mind the principles of 
morals, as embodied in the science which bears that name. 
Morals, based upon Religion — Philosophy, resting upon the 
Wisdom that is revealed to us from above — are to be the 



- 35 

teachings of this Christian school. Its foundation is the work 
of Christian hands, it will live in the affections of Christian 
hearts, and the spirit of religion must be felt throughout all 
the instruction here communicated, give the tone to its disci- 
pline, and pervade, if possible, the entire intercourse of all 
that shall be gathered within its walls. The study of Meta- 
ph3^sics, unpractical as it appears, is, in view of its religious 
and moral bearings, one of the most necessary at the present 
day to our young men of education. Its discipline, although 
altogether peculiar in its power, might be dispensed with, for 
the discipline is not without its dangers, and the skill acquired 
may be perverted to a fatal abuse. But the youth must needs 
pursue the study with all its risks, in order that he may be 
warned, and, if possible, fully armed, against errors more 
perilous to his best interests than any ignorance of worldly 
wisdom. The sophisms that lie hidden in the numerous false 
philosophical systems and opinions that are afloat, are opposed 
to all the precious truths of the Christian faith. These opinions 
are ruling, or striving to rule, the mental and moral world. 
They have already installed Reason in the place of God in 
many of the churches of the Reformation. They are spread- 
ing heresies in our own land. They pervade society. 
They breathe their miasma throughout the literature of the 
day. Every educated young man will meet them, and must 
struggle with them in a desperate conflict. There is no part 
of his education, therefore, more indispensable than this, that 
under some most able and thoroughly sound Christian philos- 
opher he shall learn their character and tendency. 

He will choose between the two Scientific departments 
which he will pursue. He will take the Mathematical or the 
Natural Science department, as he deems the knowledge in 
either most advantageous for him in view of his career, and 
w^U generally be confined to the studies in the department 
selected. It will be entirely practicable, however, without 



36 

producing too great a complication, so to arrange these studies 
that the further privilege maybe afforded to him, with respect 
to some of them, to exchange one study in the department he 
has selected for another study parallel to it in the other 
department. But this is a matter of detail that need not be 
considered at large. As a general rule throughout, no student 
can be permitted to abandon a course of study once com- 
menced, or to enter upon any branch without having pursued 
all the studies that constitute the regular gradations to it. 

He will, almost as a matter of course, continue his classical 
studies. Those who are preparing for the ministry will all 
continue their Latin and Greek studies through the entire 
course. Other students may, with permission of the Faculty, 
terminate the Latin and Greek course, and pursue instead 
either the study of the Modern languages, or both the scien- 
tific departments. The decision of the Faculty will depend 
upon the determination of the young man as to his pursuit in 
life, and upon various other considerations. The knowledge 
of the Ancient languages which the student has acquired, is 
excellent as a preparation for the study of the Modern lan- 
guages, and a valuable part of his general education. It 
ought to be accurate and extensive enough to qualify him to 
teach the Languages in a school or academy, and to enable 
him to prosecute the study for himself in after life without a 
teacher. 

Whether the regular course classical students shall be 
allowed to study besides one or more of the Modern lan- 
guages, is a question that must be determined in view of each 
particular case. With good students, it will be practicable 
to provide for the acquisition of one of them in addition to 
their other studies, or indeed room may be made for it in 
particular instances, where it may be deemed necessary. 
For those who are candidates for the ministr}^, the opportunity 
will be offered to acquire a good knowledge of German, 



37 

except in cases where the low position of the student in his 
other studies renders it entirely inadmissible. 

For the latter class of students, it is proposed, also, that 
provision be made for teaching the Hebrew Language. The 
friends of the University of Rochester have a right to expect 
that every arrangement should be made, consistently with 
the general interests of the institution, to give all the collegi- 
ate training that can be desired, for those who are to enter 
hereafter upon a theological course. 

But the crowding in of extra studies, beyond those of the 
regular courses, is generally very undesirable. The exercises 
in the departments of study which each regular course stu- 
dent is tQ pursue, should be such as to task his powers and 
industry. If he adds extra studies, the effect will no doubt 
generally be, that his progress in all will be injured, and he 
will lose, instead of gaining, by the experiment. The true 
plan will be, for those who wish to receive all the advantages 
furnished in the arrangements of instruction provided, to 
remain an additional year in the institution. They can then 
do ample justice to all the studies of the scheme. This 
course is earnestly recommended to those who aim at high 
scholarship. The students who shall remain for five years 
in the University of Rochester, and pursue thoroughly the 
studies of all the departments, will, it is believed, receive an 
education superior to what is furnished in any of the College 
systems that have been established. 

Another mode of examining the scheme proposed is, to 
look at the several departments, and observe how extended 
and efficient they are to be made. This examination will 
afford the opportunity of exliibiting the views of the Commit- 
tee, as to the mode of filling up the outline when it is to be 
carried out in its details and put in execution. Let us take 
up the departments separately. 

Course of English Literary and Philosophical studies. If 



38 

any one of the departments is to be regarded as occupying a 
position of pre-eminence, this course of studies, viewed as a 
whole, will claim that place. It is the only department that 
is compulsory throughout on all the regular course students. 
The branches embraced in it are those which are specially 
exposed to be crowded out, or narrowed in, by Latin and 
Greek and Mathematics ; and they do not, in most institutions, 
receive the large share of attention which is allowed in the 
present plan. One hour's recitation each day for the whole 
four years (with the exception, noticed above in this Report, of 
half the Freshman year, during which the classical students 
will omit a portion of the Historical course) — about one third 
of the entire time of the student — is to be employed in this 
department. The course in Modern History will occupy the 
Freshman year probably. It would be a beautiful consum- 
mation to it, if at an advanced period in the whole course, 
some higher instruction in History could be given by lectures, 
opening great philosophical views, tracing its currents in the 
channels of political organizations, viewing it in its connec- 
tions with the science of Ethnology, and showing other 
aspects of this interesting subject. Half of the Sophomore 
year may be assigned to Rhetoric, and the remaining half to 
the History of English Literature, which should be accomipa- 
nied with nice criticisms, and should come quite up to the 
present epoch, in order to show the exact character of the 
literature of the day. The remaining two years will be em- 
ployed in a course of Logic, in obtaining a brief view of the 
science of Political Economy, in Intellectual and Moral Phi- 
losophy, in the study of the Evidences of Natural and Revealed 
Religion, and in obtaining an acquaintance with the Princi- 
ples of Law. In addition to these branches, exercises in 
Composition and Declamation are to be demanded at frequent 
intervals, and maintained throughout from the beginning to 
the end of the four years. There is no more indisputable 



39 

mark of a good education, than the abihty to express original 
thought in a pure style — it is one of the chief ends of the 
whole training. Oratory should be taught by an instructor, 
and the student drilled regularly at each declamation. The 
object of teaching this branch with so much care is not to 
multiply declaimers, but to impart simplicity and effective- 
ness to delivery, and to temper and polish one of the most 
important instruments with which, at the present day, the man 
of thou2:ht can be furnished. 

Course of Latin and Greek. This extends in like manner 
over four years — two recitations per day during half the 
Freshman j^ear, and one recitation per day during the remain- 
der of the four years. The course is highly respectable, and 
will compare favorably with that of an}^ other institution. A 
larger amount of time is allowed to the languages in many 
of our Colleges, but chiefly during the first two years, and the 
space allotted to them in the Junior and Senior years is quite 
small. The even distribution of the study over the whole 
period, and the space assigned to it in the upper and better 
years, are very important advantages. 

Course of Mathematics. The course of Mathematics, pure 
and mixed, extends also over four years — one recitation each 
day — with this exception, that the latter part of the Sopho- 
more vear is reserved for a short course in Natural Philoso- 
iphy. Tliis arrangement is proposed, because the course for 
the first two 3'ears will be pursued by all, and some knowl- 
edge of the principles of Natural Philosophy appears to be 
indispensable in any respectable education. It is not placed 
in the Junior 3'ear, where it is usually placed, because both 
the Scientific courses of the two upper years are to be elec- 
tive. The acquisitions of the student in Mathematics will be 
sufficient to prepare him for the proper study of this impor- 
tant branch. The Mathematical course will continue unbroken 
during the Junior and Senior years — by far the most valuable 



40 

half of the whole period for such investigations. The means 
will be afforded of producing very superior scientific scholars. 
The higher branches of Mathematics and the Mathematics of 
Astronomy may be carried much further than is usual in Col- 
leges. But the most marked advantage anticipated is the 
introduction of an important range of useful branches which 
it is impossible to provide under the ordinary arrangements of 
a single uniform course. There will be, during the two 
years, the opportunity of teaching well several of the more 
prominent applications of Mathematical science to civil life 
and the Arts of industry. 

Course of Natural Sciences. This extends over the Junior 
and Senior years — one recitation per day. In this depart- 
ment, as in the Mathematical and Mechanical course, are 
seen in a striking light, the differences between the plan pro- 
posed and the ordinary arrangement. The great feature of 
the present plan is the double Scientific course ; and it seems 
to offer the only feasible mode of doing justice to the more 
necessary sciences. The Natural Sciences are more circum- 
scribed in space, and taught more imperfectly, than any other 
studies embraced in the usual curriculum. The course pro- 
posed will afford the means of communicating a wide extent 
of valuable instruction in Chemistry and other Natural Sci- 
ences, and of giving it a more practical direction than is pos- 
sible in the single course plan. 

Course of Modern Languages. This is a good course in 
French and German, occupying two years — one hour's reci- 
tation each day. 

Course of Drawing. This is an extra department, and one 
of great practical value. Skill in drawing is an elegant 
acquisition to any one, but indispensable to those who wish 
to graduate as competent civil engineers or scientific mech- 
anists. 

The distinguishing peculiarity of the scheme which has thus 



41 

been sketched in its general outline is, that it furnishes sys- 
tematic instruction for each student, and at the same time 
allows him a freedom of choice, so that he may acquire such 
branches as he shall particularly desire, and pursue some of 
them more thoroughly than the arrangements of a uniform Col- 
lege course will allow. It will be seen that two main courses 
of instruction are contemplated. The one, because of the 
amount of instruction in the sciences which it contains, may 
be properly called a Scientific course of education. The 
student who shall pass through it successfully will receive the 
appropriate degree of Bachelor of Sciences. The other is a 
complete course of Classical education, diversified, it is hoped, 
with a judicious admixture of scientific, literary, and philo- 
sophical instruction. Those who pursue it successfully to the 
end will merit the degree, which is the usual designation of 
a similar education, that of Bachelor of Arts. 

The adaptedness of the scheme to the wants of those who 
will resort to the University for the purpose of obtaining their 
general educational preparation for the work of the gospel 
ministry, has been carefully considered. It is believed to 
combine all the elements that can be desired to this end. In 
the wide provisions of scientific instruction, there will be pre- 
sented, to those who may be commissioned to go to heathen 
lands as the missionaries of Christianity and of civilization, 
the means of obtaining the knowledge with which they can 
cut up by the roots the false scientific views that are inter- 
twined inseparably with many of the pagan sj^stems. The 
literary cultivation embraced ih'the ample rhetorical course, 
and the special instruction in delivery, will tend to make 
those who possess the indispensable spiritual gifts, acceptable 
and impressive preachers. No portion of the moral machin- 
ery of education is to be slighted. The two years' course 
will be found a valuable preparation to young men who have 
devoted themselves to the sacred office, and may feel it to be 



42 

their duty, in the call of Divine Providence, to terminate their 
literary training at this period. 

The Committee recommend that the means of education in 
special branches be extended still more liberally to students 
who have not the time to take the entire course. The admis- 
sion of partial course students may be safely left in the 
hands of the Faculty. No scholar can be admitted to pursue 
any branch of instruction unless he possess the requisite 
qualifications for pursuing it with credit to himself and to the 
institution. His admission, the course he may pursue, and 
his advancement, will be regulated by the Faculty, and not 
left to his own choice simply. It is hoped that the advantages 
of education that will be furnished in the University may thus 
be thrown open in particular cases, where it v^ill be of great 
service to young men whose means, or situation, perhaps 
whose industrial avocations, may prevent their prosecuting a 
regular College course. There is no danger that this privilege, 
thus reo'ulated and controlled, can ever break down the reofu- 
lar system, or occasion any serious injury to its successful 
working. 

It is proposed that certificates be given to students, when 
desired, of their attainments in any particular department. 
These may be useful as testimonials of capacity and knowl- 
edge, and aid them in obtaining good situations or employ- 
ment. Certificates, also, for the two years' course should be 
prepared specially, as this is a point where a good many will 
be likely to leave, to enter into business. 

We now come to consider the very impo;'tant question of 
the requirements of admission. The following scheme is 
proposed : — 

1. Candidates for admission to the Freshman Clasp, wlio are clas- 
Bical student?, shall be examined in 

The English, Latin, and Greek Grammars, 
Cornelius Nepos, 



43 

Caesar's Commentaries, 

Virgil's JEneid, 

Cicero's Select Orations, 

Translatino- Eno-Ush into Latin, 

Greek Reader, 

Three Books of Xenophon's Anabasis, 

Geography, and in 

All the rules of Arithmetic ; . 

and those only who shall pass a good examination shall be entitled 
to admission. 

2. Candidates for admission to the Freshman Class, who are 
not classical students, shall be examined in the following studies : — 

Spelling, 

Defining, 

Reading, 

"Writing, 

Geography, 

English Grammar, 

English Composition, (so far as to exhibit some practice,) 

History of the United States, (equal to contents of the ordinary 
School Histories,) 

Ancient History and Geogi'aphy, (equal to contents of Arnold's 
Pitt's Ancient History,) 

Constitution of the United States, and in 

All the rules of Arithmetic ; :' 

and those only who shall pass a good examination in these studies 
shall be entitled to admission. 

3. No student shall be admitted to the Freshman Class who has 
not arrived at the age of fourteen years, nor to an advanced Class, 
unless at a corresponding age. 

The qualifications for the admission of classical students 
are high, and will demand thorough teaching on the part of 
those who shall prepare pupils for entrance. A good and 
accurate knowledge of the studies prescribed should, in all 
cases, be required. It will be perceived that Algebra is not 
included in the list of requirements, but a searching examina- 



44 

tion in all the rules of Arithmetic will prove to be more than 
an equivalent for the small amount of Algebra usually de- 
manded. With respect to the qualifications for the admission 
of candidates who are not classical students, it may be sup- 
posed by some, that they do not demand very high attainments. 
But, interpreted in their strictness, they will probably be 
found sufficiently high. The examination should be con- 
ducted so as to show the discipline which the pupil's mind 
has received in his preparatory education, and should test 
his acquaintance with principles as well as with facts and 
rules. There can be no difficulty, in regard to this class of 
candidates, in insisting upon the qualifications in their full 
meaning, because there is neither temptation nor constraint, 
arising from the example and the competition of other institu- 
tions, to conduct the examination otherwise. A total failure 
in any one branch should cause the rejection of the applicant. 

The qualifications demanded for the admission of classical 
students would be found a superior preparation for all who 
enter. This is respectfully suggested, and earnestly recom- 
mended, to students and parents, in case this scheme should 
be adopted. Candidates for the degree of Bachelor of 
Sciences, who shall be willing to prepare themselves in those 
qualifications, would find the discipline of such preparation 
of great service to them in all their studies. The preliminary 
course of Latin and Greek, though it should be prosecuted no 
further, will introduce the student, as no other method of 
study can, to a thorough knowledge of the English language, 
and to a perfect acquaintance with the principles of grammar. 
The study of Latin is probably a real economy of time to 
those who wish to learn the languages of Southern Europe. 

The necessity of rigid examinations in order to ascertain the 
qualifications of students to be promoted from class to class 
in the course has been already insisted on. In laying down 
a pl^in of instruction, nothing more can be done with refer- 



45 

ence to this subject than to pass a general rule, that no student 
shall be advanced unless found qualified in all his studies. 
This is, in its nature, a matter that depends upon Executive 
administration. As a means of testing progress, a record 
should be kept of the merit of every exercise of each student 
throughout the whole term ; and his position should be deter- 
mined from these as well as from the review examinations. 
Marks of demerit should also be carefully registered, and con- 
stantly used as a means of discipline for slight offenses, until 
they swell to an amount demanding severer remedies. If, in 
addition, the practice be pursued of hearing a recitation gen- 
erally from each student every dsy in all the branches he 
studies, all has been done that can be done by theory in 
securing thorough attention and preparation. The rest depends 
upon the administration; and that must be invested with the 
requisite power, and sustained in its decisions. There will be 
peculiar need of this strictness of management in an institu- 
tion furnishing so many branches of instruction, and admitting 
the principle of elective studies to the extent proposed in the 
University of Rochester. It cannot be made a great institution, 
and will not be found to work smoothly in its internal man- 
agement, unless this strictness is maintained with unflinching 
firmness. 

It seems proper to remark, in regard to the plan of instruc- 
tion sketched above, that it is not an economical one. This is 
undoubtedly true, if the number of students shall be small. 
If the number should be large, the plan will not necessarily 
involve any material increase of expense, as extra instructors 
would in that case be provided, even if the number of branches 
taught were less extended, and all pursued the same course. 
The increase of the expense is not, however, so considerable 
that it will deter the Trustees from adopting the plan, if they 
deem it a better one than the old system. It may be the very 



46 

means of making the institution prosperous in its resources, 
increasing the number of students, and enlisting the sympathy 
of all classes of the community in its support. 

There is one way, however, in which the expenses must be 
kept down; and that is, by the Professors themselves, in under- 
taking freely to bear the burden of instruction. The duty of 
teaching need not be limited, as it is sometimes, to one or two 
hours per day. This amount of duty, extending, as it does, 
if the vacations are deducted, over about three fourths of the 
year, is certainly very light duty- — less than is reasonable in 
itself, or than the limited resources of our colleges will admit. 
The Professors may be appointed with some distinct under- 
standing as to the number of hours each day they may be 
called upon to give instruction, and in some instances extra 
branches may be assigned to them which they are well quali- 
fied to teach. In this way, the service may be performed 
with a just economy, and with proper efficiency. There is no 
. doubt that qualified men can be found to undertake the duties 
of the respective Professorships upon these conditions. 

There are several other important considerations connected 
with the organization and management of the University, 
which it may be expected that the Committee should notice, 
although not literally included in the terms of the resolution 
under which they act. One of these is, the arrangement of 
the terms and vacations. It is exceedingly difficult in this 
matter to meet the views of all. It is by some considered an 
important point, that the vacations should be so distributed, 
and should be so long, as to allow students to provide for their 
own support, by laboring in the harvest field in summer, and 
by teaching school in winter. The class of students who 
would avail themselves of these or of similar means of pro- 
viding for their own support, deserve special consideration, 
and everything should be done, that can be done consistently 
with other interests, to meet their case. But any arrangement 



47 

that would fully accord with the wishes of this class, would 
be very unsatisfactory to others. The arrangement of terms 
and vacations suggested by the Committee, is to be regarded 
as a compromise of conflicting demands, and will, it is hoped, 
secure the greatest benefit to the largest number. 

The subject of providing study rooms and boarding halls 
also demands notice. The Trustees will probably determine, 
without a dissenting voice, to make no provision of the kind. 
It will certainly simplify the whole management and govern- 
ment of the institution. The character of the community of 
Rochester justifies the belief that the experiment of boarding 
students in families may be made with safety and without 
diflSculty., All that will be necessary is, that the parents or 
guardians of the young men should take proper care in select- 
ing places for them. The Trustees and Officers of the Uni- 
versity may, also, properly exercise some supervision over 
each case, and cause to be applied the moral restraints that 
may from time to time be necessary. With these precautions, 
the intimacy of the young men in families is calculated to 
throw safeguards about the morals, to enlarge the general 
tone of thought, and to exercise a refining effect upon the 
manners. The silent influence of the social virtues is an 
important element in the formation of chai-acter. These are 
influences which students, at their impressible period of life, 
peculiarly need, and which are not found in the habits that 
prevail in Halls and Commons. 

It will be expected, as a matter of course, that the students 
shall attend public worship on the Sabbath. The parent or 
guardian will designate the church which he wishes that the 
young man should attend. And at the daily prayers in the 
Chapel of the University, all the students will be required to 
attend, except in cases where they may be especially excused. 

The sketch of an organization of the Faculty, in order to 
carry out the plan of instruction proposed, is herewith sub- 



48 

mitted. It will not be necessary, at the commencement of 
operations, to appoint the whole corps of Professors, lecturers, 
and teachers that will be required hereafter. And it will be 
for the Trustees, when the occasion shall arise demanding 
an increase of force, to consider the expediency of employing 
to some extent Assistants to the Professors. The following, 
organization is suggested, as being necessary at the commence- 
ment of operations. Several of the branches enumerated in 
the Plan as sketched will still remain unprovided for. It 
will, perhaps, be found necessary at a future day to engage 
the services of a Professor to take charge of the department 
of Mechanical Philosophy and the practical applications of 
Mathematical Science. The instruction contemplated in the 
principles of Law will doubtless be communicated by lecture, 
and the services of some gentleman of high standing in the 
Profession secured for this purpose. It is recommended that 
the officers and teachers named be appointed at the present 
time, with the exception of the teachers of the French and 
German Languages, and of Drawing. With respect to in- 
struction in these branches, it is proposed that teachers be 
engaged as they may be needed, and receive a compensation 
proportioned to the service rendered ; except where it may be 
practicable to provide for the instruction by assigning the 
branch to one of the Professors. 

LIST OF OFFICERS AND TEACHERS. 

President, who shall be the Professor of Mental, Moral, and Political 

Science. 
Professor of the Greek Language and Literature. 
Professor of the Latin Language and Literature. 
Professor of Histoiy and Belles Lettres. 
Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. 
Professor of Natural Sciences. 
Teachers of French, German, and Drawing. 

The recommendations embraced in this Report are embodied 
in the annexed Rules and Resolutions, which are respectfully 



49 

presented to the Board of Trustees, for them to dispose of as 
they may deem best. 

In concluding their Report, the Committee beg leave to say,. 
that they do not claim for the scheme herein contained any 
particular merit on the score of originahty. Some of the more 
important features, and particularly the introduction of elect- 
ive branches at the end of the Sophomore year, have been 
suggested and tried partially elsewhere. They hope that the 
plan, if it should be put into execution, will be found in prac^ 
tice one of great general usefulness, opening the way to a 
varied and numerous class of students, and inducing them to 
enter upon a thorough course of instruction. They regard it as 
securing a sound, liberal, and scholarlike education, teaching 
thoroughly the principles of the various branches of knowledge 
introduced, and furnishing at the same time a good prepara- 
tion for practical life. They know that it wdll not embrace 
the knowledge that may be demanded as a specific preparation 
for many branches of manufacture and the arts, and that it 
will not make men skilful artisans. Specific, widely diversi- 
fied preparation of this kind for industrial life, if it is to be 
provided, must be supplied by schools of a different character, 
to be organized upon the model of the Polytechnic Schools 
which are maintained in France and other countries of Europe, 
that are designed for this paiticular object, and educate to 
some extent the hand as well as the mind. 

It is impossible to combine all the means of education,, 
theoretical and practical, scientific and literary, for which a 
demand may arise, in any one organization. Instruction in 
special sciences, of a veiy complete character and great extent, 
may be demanded ; and it is exceedingly desirable that it 
should be furnished to those who seek it. But it can be given 
only in scientific schools, similar to the Lawrence School, 
recently established in connection with Harvard University, 



50 

but entirely separate and distinct from the undergraduate 
course. Foundations of this character can have no place in 
a College plan. They must be complete and independent 
organizations, whether existing under a government of their 
own, or under the general powers of a University. Nothing 
less than a most extensive and immensely costly University 
scheme could embrace a constellation of such schools. There 
are two, or at most three, departments organized in the Law- 
rence Scientific School, and the principal of these, the course 
in Chemistry, fully carried out, will occupy the entire time 
of the student for three years. It is obvious that instruction of 
this character is special in every sense, and demands special 
adaptations. 

The undersigned believe the plan proposed, although an 
enlargement of the usual boundaries of College education, to 
be suJ0S.ciently guarded to prevent abuse. In presenting it, 
they have found it necessary to allude to other methods, and 
to express freely their opinions upon the subject of College 
education generally. They would solicit for this experiment, 
in case the plan should be adopted, the good wishes and 
indulgence of those who may not accord fully with the views 
presented. They are themselves disposed to regard with the 
same good wishes any other experiments that may be made 
by judicious and experienced men, the object of which shall 
be to enlarge the sphere and increase the influence of College 
education; and to hail with sincere pleasure the success of 
any method, however it may differ from their opinions, that 
shall safely accomplish this great object. 

ROBERT KELLY, 
. WILLIAM R. WILLIAMS, 
F. WHITTLESEY, 

C. DEWEY, > Committee. 

T. J. CONANT, 
A. C. KENDRICK, 
J. H. RAYMOND, 

Rochester J Sejptemher 16th, 1850. 

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